Pages

Tuesday, 18 November 2014

Review ~ The Thursday Night Club by Steven Manchester

The Story Plant
18 November 2014

A Tale of Christmas Spirit

The Thursday Night Club are a
group of five college friends who meet every Thursday on Izzy and Ava’s front
porch to share in good food and the joy of close and happy friendship. They are comfortable and familiar in each
other’s company and the light hearted banter shared between them reiterates
just how important they are to each other. When tragedy strikes the group, they
decide to honour the spirit of their friendship and show just how simple acts
of kindness can have a profound effect, not just on their own behaviour, but it also demonstrates just how the gift of hope can be transferred to others.

I have now read several stories
written by this author and thoroughly enjoy the way he is able to get right
into the minutiae of daily life and is able, in just a few words, to tug away
at your heart strings. I found much to enjoy within the story, the homely atmosphere
of being seated at the old wooden table on the front porch conjures such a
lovely an image of warmth that I felt like I wanted to curl up near the steamer
trunk, cover myself with one of grandmother’s colourful crocheted Afghans, and
settle into my own Thursday Night Club.

The overall theme of friendship,
love, life and helping others is written in perfect detail and whilst the novella
is, in many ways, a quick read, it is not light on content and as the story
draws you in, you begin to understand the need we all have for simple human
kindness and shows how compassion for others is something to be cherished.